Antispam company Habeas is suing bulk e-mailers, accusing them of using its poetry without permission in an unusual use of trademark law to clamp down on spammers. Habeas, headed by lawyer and antispam activist Anne P. Mitchell, puts a new twist on spam prevention by inserting some trademarked haiku lines into the header of an e-mail. The haiku is supposed to indicate to spam filters that the accompanying message is not spam in an effort to make sure that legitimate messages get through to recipients. Habeas’ haikus are recognized by the antispam filters and technology of companies including Spam Assassin, AOL and Juno…”The only reason to put our mark in the e-mail is to make sure it gets past spam filters,” Mitchell said. “If someone uses our trademark without permission, we are required to go after them.” [CNet News, 4/4/03]
